Kevin Gausman not an immediate call-up candidate, but he could skip Triple-A

May 14, 2013|By Eduardo A. Encina | The Baltimore Sun

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said Tuesday that pitching prospect Kevin Gausman is not a candidate to fill the team’s two vacant starting pitcher spots over the next week.

With starters Miguel Gonzalez and Wei-Yin Chen on the disabled list, the Orioles have rotation spots to fill on Saturday and Tuesday.

“Gausman is doing fine,” Duquette said. “I’m going to tell you. He’s not a candidate for us to recall. He’s doing fine at Double-A and he’s getting used to professional baseball.

“He’s doing fine where he is,” Duquette added. “He’s getting his feet on the ground. He’s learning about the routine in pro baseball. He’s doing well where he is.”

In seven starts for the Baysox this season, Gausman is 1-4 with a 3.35 ERA over 40 1/3 innings and 39 strikeouts and just four walks. He’s allowed two or fewer earned runs in five of his seven starts.

In Bowie, Gausman is working on establishing a slider as his third pitch to compliment his fastball and plus changeup.

However, asked if Gausman – the fourth-overall pick in the 2012 draft out of LSU – will need seasoning at Triple-A Norfolk before his joins the big-league club, Duquette suggested that the 22-year-old establishing himself at the Double-A level is more important.

“What did we do with Manny Machado last year?” Duquette said, referencing how Machado joined the Orioles from Double-A in August. “Where did he go? Double-A is the real proving ground. … I like to see players do well at Double-A and get a foundation so that when that they do come to the big leagues they can succeed. The proving ground is Double-A.

“Triple-A is a good experience because there are more experience players there, so that’s a good development,” Duquette said. “But the real proving ground is Double-A.”